Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - 2-11-2023
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
The efforts by China to rekindle the diplomatic relations of Iran and Saudi Arabia provides hope. I hope the momentum for diplomacy instead of conflict keeps expanding faster than violent acts.
The propaganda campaign is heating up.
Australian corporate papers call for war with China, nuclear weapons and mass conscription World Socialist Web Site March 19, 2023
In a militarist barrage, Nine Media and its main mastheads—the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age—published a major series this week insisting that Australia must prepare to fight an imminent war against China.
“Red alert” called for the stationing of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles in northern Australia, the introduction of mass conscription and preparations for the country to host as many as 200,000 US military personnel.
The articles are a demand for total war, not far off in the future, but as an immediate practical order of business. The series stressed that a war will be fought in the Indo-Pacific, not in twenty years or a decade, but within the next three years.
The multi-part series was not published in response to any specific development. Over the past week, there has not been a major geo-political occurrence in the region. China has not carried out any acts of aggression.
Instead, “Red alert” is part of a coordinated onslaught by those sections of the US and allied media that speak directly for the American military-intelligence apparatus. In concert, publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have published frothing condemnations of China. It is as though someone in the White House, the Pentagon or both flicked a switch that sent out an alert to their lackeys in the media.
...
The timeline featured by “Red alert,” of a war with China within three years, comes straight from the American military. It is simply a promotion of views advanced by US Air Force General Michael Minihan, who earlier this year forecast an American war with China by 2025.
...
Conscious of the historic opposition to war among workers and young people, the document cites the necessity to break the “taboos” of conscription and nuclear weapons.Perhaps the one note of truth in the series is its description of what a major war in the Indo-Pacific would involve. It would be a “whole of nation” effort, essentially requiring the militarisation of the entire society.
Along these lines, the “Red alert” series calls for the introduction of conscription. This would involve not only teenagers and young adults, but potentially anyone required for the war effort in what would be a war economy and the militarisation of society.
9 New Australia broadcast on March 7, 2023 is a glimpse of the beginning of a campaign to prepare a population to go to war. (11:26 min)
Beyond the first battle for Taiwan Asia Times March 11, 2023
US may be able to defeat an attempted invasion landing but will lose when China imposes a blockade on the island
Maneuvers by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in August 2022 marked the first time the PLA has openly signaled that a blockade of Taiwan is among the military courses of action for which it plans and trains.
...
There is danger that the exercises we observed will foster a false belief that breaking a Chinese blockade would be a straightforward task easily within the capability of current and projected US forces. It would not be. In a serious military conflict over Taiwan, the kind of blockade China would impose would be vastly more difficult to counter. In this author’s assessment, nothing the United States armed forces are doing or planning to do is sufficient to prevail in that conflict.
...
The principal factor shaping a potential blockade of Taiwan is the geography of Taiwan itself. There are few deep-water ports, and those on the east coast are isolated from the rest of the island by steep mountains and narrow, low-capacity roads that are easily severed. The central mountain range separating separate east from west climbs to over 12,000 feet within 30 miles of the east coast.
...
In this author’s observation, US thinking about a potential Taiwan conflict focuses on winning the first battle, either thwarting a landing attempt or stripping away a PLA Navy blockade effort east of Taiwan. (This presumably was the thought behind US Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Paparo’s “resounding yes” on whether his forces could break a Chinese blockade.) There has been much less thought about what happens after that, about how to keep Taiwan alive through months if not years of a close-in Chinese blockade.The requirements for running a blockade differ markedly from those for defeating a landing. The latter has two key aspects: protecting US ships and aircraft from China’s long-range weapons, and sinking as many as possible of the ships carrying Chinese forces across the strait. Both tasks are extremely difficult, but the requirements are straightforward and play to the strengths of the US military-industrial complex.
Running a blockade, in contrast, presents extreme operational challenges for which the solution is not obvious, and furthermore runs contrary to deeply held beliefs about what kind of operations US forces should prepare for.
...
All of this requires that Taiwan be able to bear the pain China will inflict. Part of the capacity to endure hinges on US supplies of critical weapons and munitions, but the vast majority is in the hands of Taiwan’s government and people. Taiwan could increase its resilience by hardening facilities, shifting to mobile rather than fixed systems, increasing stockpiles of critical munitions and materials, working out what its wartime consumption requirements would be under strict rationing, conducting regular continuity of operations drills and opening the discussion with its own people about how the society could stand up to extended deprivation and Chinese punishment. Psychological resilience is as important as physical preparations.All of this leaves the US with only a few options:
One, continue our current course, building a US force designed to defeat a Chinese invasion but not to penetrate a close-in blockade of Taiwan ports and airfields.
Two, build a force that can defeat the blockade as well as the invasion.
Three, admit we cannot save Taiwan from Chinese conquest and give up trying.
It is possible the US planning has considered ammunition supplies in countries with a Mutual Defense Agreement who will likely be drug into a conflict. (Note add The Philippines to the list). The planners may be able to overcome this shortfall.
US lacks the explosive firepower to truly deter China Asia Times March 11, 2023
The US is at growing risk of a firepower gap with China as US explosives and propellants production declines and China’s rises.
This month, Forbes reported that China had overtaken the US in developing new types of explosives, notably its version of CL-20, an explosive developed in the 1980s, which is 40% more potent than RDX or HMX and widely used in US munitions since World War II.
...
Given China’s advances in energetics, Sean Carberry, in a June 2022 article by National Defense Magazine, cautions that the US might be at a disadvantage in a confrontation with China due to the latter’s planes and ships carrying munitions that can travel further, with those weapons being made smaller and lighter yet having more punch.
...
Defense One reported this month that a lack of machine tools constrains US artillery round production capability. Precision machining is vital for artillery rounds, as any imperfections in the round casing shape will result in erratic flight toward the target.The article notes that while the US has abundant raw materials for manufacturing artillery rounds, the long lead time in acquiring machining tools for artillery round casings causes delays in scaling up production.
...
In the case of Taiwan, a January 2023 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) notes that US use of munitions in a Taiwan contingency would likely exceed its current stockpile, with the US running out of long-range, precision-guided munitions less than one week into a Taiwan conflict.
This article showed up last year.
Taiwan's Message for China: We Have a Nuke-Like Weapon Gatestone Institute June 27, 2022
China's Taiwan Affairs Office, through spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang, replied with a poetic image. "If they dare strike a stone with an egg, it will only accelerate their demise."
At least one of Taiwan's "eggs" can kill tens of millions of Chinese, perhaps more.
The range of Taiwan's Yun Feng cruise missile has never been publicly confirmed, but analysts believe it to be about 1,240 miles, sufficient to reach both the Chinese capital and the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest flood-control structure.
China's dam creates a reservoir of 39.3 billion cubic meters of water on the Yangtze River and is upstream from about 400 million people. Almost 30% of China's population, therefore, is at risk of a catastrophic failure of the structure, such as one caused by a missile strike. That means Taiwan possesses a conventional weapon that packs the wallop of a nuclear one.
...
China has targets, and Taiwan has missiles. That translates into deterrence if Taiwan makes it clear that, in the defense of its sovereignty, it is prepared to take Chinese lives in the hundreds of millions.
Update on US-Chinese tensions and specifically developments regarding the island province of Taiwan: March 2, 2023 Brian Berletic (29:20 min)
Judge Napolitano channel this last week hosted hosted several interviews. Each one provided new unique information. In the back of my mind is the tension between the warmongers for Ukraine and those for China. The first interview I listened to with Seymour Hersh after he wrote the Nord Stream story he mentioned the China group wanted the Ukraine conflict over so they can start theirs. Probably need to get conflict started before there is a President in the White House with the mental capacity to say No.
Sign in Pause (k) 0:00 / 24:05 CIA and Ukraine - Ray McGovern (24:05 min) March 6, 2023
How strong is Putin's Army? - w/ Lieutenant Colonel TONY SHAFFER (21:07 min) March 7, 2023 (Tony is outspoken on the need to keep China in its proper place in the world and out of Taiwan)
Sign in 0:00 / 34:48 Russia Strikes Kyiv, Odesa & Kharkiv - Col Doug Macgregor (34.48 min) March 9, 2023 (begins with brief discussion on Chinese Belt and Road project)
Ukraine & the CIA, What Games are Being Played w/ Larry Johnson (16.39 min) March 9, 2023
Heavy Bombing Continues in Ukraine - Scott Ritter (25:18 min) March 10, 2023
What is on your mind today?
Comments
And in Georgia it looks like the open invite
to our neolibcons has really opened the floodgates for the revolution.
Our "diplomats" are bringing along some of their Ukr people to show how getting rid of ru works.
Lotta innocent people are going to die and the evils will endure.
Decided to reread the old Bradbury book that helped form my early years. Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Oh what tangled web we weave...
Please enjoy your weekend.
In spite of how the western media spins it
US is attempting another regime change operation in Georgia.
And Azerbaijan? Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore,
nonferrous metals, bauxite. Agricultural land: 57.6%
The political system in Azerbaijan is authoritarian.
Chipping away at the fringes.
question everything
MoA had a couple of informative extracts
covering the Georgia thing. I have no idea of the veracity so draw your own opinion.
From the Ukr open thread 2023-58.
and..
and ...
The biography of Salome Zurabishvili follows the installed coup leaders requirements almost exactly. I could draw a few historical examples. Hardly a true Georgian who cares more about her "adopted" state.
(added on edit) Last I had heard was that Zurabishvili has been in the US. Hmm, curioser and curioser.
I think it is pretty clear...
The protest was about a new law requiring reporting of foreign contributions/money. I'm sure that this was NOT an organic protest to insure foreign involvement in Georgia. My money would be on Soros' open society the NED and others attempting another Ukraine style coup on Russia's border.
Thanks for the MoA article, I'll check it out.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
It’s part of the Rand corporation plan
Check it out at the link to see in original format. It’s just under the headlines.
Extending RussiaCompeting from Advantageous Ground
RANDCORPORATION
Published inApril 2019
CHAPTER FOUR
Geopolitical Measures..
Measure 1: Provide Lethal Aid to Ukraine ..
Measure 2: Increase Support to the Syrian Rebels
Measure 3: Promote Regime Change in Belarus.....
Measure 4: Exploit Tensions in the South Caucasus.
Measure 5: Reduce Russian Influence in Central Asia
Measure 6: Challenge Russian Presence in Moldova
Geopolitical Measures 115
Measure 4: Exploit Tensions in the South Caucasus Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia were part of the Soviet Union, and Russia still maintains significant sway over the region today (Figure 4.1). In August 2008, after peace agreements with separat- ists broke down, Georgia fought a brief war over the South Ossetia and Abkhazia enclaves, two semi-independent pro-Russia provinces of Georgia. The war proved disastrous for Georgia. Russia quickly inter- vened and eventually occupied both regions and, briefly, other parts of Georgia as well. Georgia signed a cease-fire agreement on August 14, 2008, only eight days after the Russian intervention. However, Russian forces remain in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both of which have since
declared their independence.74
However the recent update from Rand was get the F out of Ukraine so we don’t deplete our military stock and can instead focus on China.
Our overlords don’t care how many people die either over the pond or here at home as long as the parasite class can continue to rob us blind and into their pockets.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Well that definitely sounds like what is happening now
So this Rand Corp gives the marching orders to the MIC, govt toadies and state media
all in a pretty little bundle marked empire. Bunch of scheisskopfs playing dirty.
Thanks for linking' snoop!
question everything
I suspect there isn't much of a wall
between Rand, the neolibcons and the alphabet agencies. Or our 3 branch linked at the hip gov't.
Pretty dam disgusting.
So the pres of Georgia will assume her throne outside the US and EU soon. Good thing the pilot will know where to find it cause I don't think she knows where it is.
Here is more on this scheme to keep Russia off balance
Link
I think Putin caught Obama off guard when he went to Syria’s defense instead of watching as we destroyed another country in the Middle East. He even got Syria to offload their chemical weapons to derail Obama from bombing it. The neocons never forgave him for doing that.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Hey, Snoopydawg
An excellent link you have there. Thanks for posting it. Quality analysis with original perspectives are few and far between. There are not many news sites where patrons read as widely and deeply on these issues as we do here. Have you noticed that c99 has been 100 percent correct about every hotly-debated geopolitical outcome since 2016? This is not a happy place for the gaslit. Here, be dragons.
Woods. Trees.
Ones farther afield, mostly yes. Closer to home, not so much.
The actions by Deep State actors taken against Trump, first to derail his winning in 2016, then continuing efforts to destabilize subvert and impeach him and, failing that, to formulate and (to a still unknown degree implement) plans to ensure he would be denied re-election no matter what bear all of the signs of a Color Revolution. But... many or most here - even those who can seemingly spot one oceans and continents away - seem oblivious to or in denial of its happening in the US.
The Cabal:
The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election
(Molly Ball Time.com Feb. 4, 2021)
Read the rest (spun as a good thing, of course) here
Prominent in the anti-Trump actions around the 2020 election were individual and organizations with clear Color Revolution backgrounds and agendas - explored in considerable depth in a series of article by Revolver.com in 2020
Presidential debates:
EXCLUSIVE
Rigged: The Chairman of the Presidential Debate Commission is Co-Founder of “Color Revolution” Org Linked to Steele Dossier and More
(Oct. 9, 2020)
Source
From the 3rd installment of Revolver's 2020 series:
Key organization in the effort to bring down Trump: Transition Integrity Project. Key among the key participants: Norm Eisen.
Meet Norm Eisen: Legal Hatchet Man and Central Operative in the “Color Revolution” Against President Trump (September 9, 2020)
Another article, another key player George Kent from the State Dept. - testified against Trump in the attempted impeachment over Ukraine:
The Curious Case of George Kent: State Department’s Belarus “Color Revolution” Expert And “Never Trump” Impeachment Witness (August 16, 2020)
Source
Transition Integrity Project: Is this Soros Linked Group Plotting a “Color Revolution” Against President Trump? (September 4, 2020) Source
See anything suggesting a *pattern* here?
I disagree with you on this
Most of us were very aware of what was happening to Trump almost from the beginning when Hillary tarred him as a Russia asset and later understood what Russia gate was about. Maybe you hadn’t joined the site back then, but we’ve written numerous essays about it. I knew too that one of the goals of Russia Russia Russia was going to be censorship. I saw anyone who didn’t toe the party line was called a Putin puppet or a Putin apologist. This still happened after Russia went into Ukraine.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
If I've misattributed
or mischaracterized people's opinions or understanding of the situation - well, sorry.
That said, I don't have any clear sense of people perceiving events such as Russiagate, the prosecution of Trump supporters, the impeachment attempts, the push for mail-in voting, Zuckerbucks, BLM riots, ramping up of censorship, the plandemic, etc. as other than mostly disparate bits - not as a planned/directed/orchestrated whole.
And thus have been prone to accept improbable things - like a massive groundswell of support for Biden 2020 and be utterly dismissive of claims of election irregularities/vulnerabilities/fraud. Or to accept the narrative of the J-6 demo/riot being an attempted insurrection by violent white supremacists without giving consideration to evidence of the presence of provocateurs and the possibility of a planned, false-flag manipulation of a generally peaceful demonstration to violence.
Especially considering that it was in the objective interest of Trump supporters to have the Congressional proceedings, along with the planned challenges actually take place, rather than be shut down before they barely started.
My point is that a lot of the seemingly disparate or contradictory things in out recent history are better understood as a planned, continuing, slow-rolling coup conducted along Color Revolution lines.
Especially given the involvement at so many points of known practitioners of the CR 'art', a point that I think many here (and most everyone not here) have been unaware of.
"It's not me they're after, it's you. I'm just in the way."
- Donald Trump
No problem
I’ve been here in my thinking for some time. I did see the capitol riots as a false flag for new domestic terror laws and have been calling out the persecution of Trump supporters and especially the pre trial confinements and the rest that you mention. Others have seen those things for what they are.
As for Trump saying that it’s not him, but us, I have agreed with him since the 1st bogus impeachment. I was always open to the possibility of the election being stolen because why not? It was stolen twice for Bush and we watched the democrats rig the primaries twice and there was lots of evidence of weird shenanigans with the vote counting after the cameras were off.
Absolutely. I’m here every day, all day and many people have seen what you have. I don’t know your schedule or if you have as much time as I do, but maybe you have missed what we have said. A small perk of being disabled…I spend lots of time on the net. A very small perk. I’ll admit that I was slow to see the blm riots for what they were and maybe a few other things, but I got there eventually. Your posts has helped with that. Thanks!
Hey I’ve even posted Carlson a few times… and found myself agreeing with him.
But one thing I’ve kept in the back of my mind is what if Trump was just a patsy for things to go where they have? I thought there were a lot of things he could have done to expose Russia gate for what it was, but he didn’t. Maybe he has been calling attention to how his supporters are being treated in prison, but I don’t pay much attention to him anymore. I see that he’s been in the news for 2 years after leaving office and once again the media focuses on everything he says. I find that very weird. Plus he is still giving the jabs great kudos and not acknowledging that they aren’t effective or safe. He told the health agencies to send everyone HCQ, but when they didn’t he did nothing. Just too many things that have made me go hmmm.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I need to take more time with what you've written
....to understand the point you are making.
But let me jump in and say that c99 — unlike every other "progressive" site — stood alone and reported on exactly what was done to Trump during the 2016 election. It was certainly the crime of the century, and the only real occurrence I know of when elements of the Federal government, including the Obama administration, attempted to overthrow the 2016 US Presidential election. And then sabotage the Trump Presidency with leaks from the White House, scandalous arrests of the President's staff, and the continuing psyop known as the Russia Collusion Hoax. Mueller's investigation was a long and elaborate cover-up of the Intelligence agencies' involvement in the Trump election sabotage. Pure kabuki that yielded nothing.
C99 took a lot of heat for seeing and speaking the truth about what was done to Trump.
We also saw the raw truth about Trump, which the Maga folks were blind to. Trump was a hot mess, clueless and irresponsible. He was a one-trick pony. A political outsider who thought his blatant sucking-up to Israel would provide all the protection he needed. Trump had no idea what a neocon was, and couldn't spot one to save his life. He appointied the most notorious Neocons to his cabinet — then fired them when he got spooked by their evil. The next week, he cluelessly appointed replacement neocons. Of course, they kept sabotaging him and leading him into monumental acts of stupidity on the world stage.
Halfway through his chaotic term, Deep Snakes from the State Department entrapped him in a staged weapons drama with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, begging for advanced long range weapons. The scheme was aided by the rogue staff at the US Embassy in Ukraine, who recorded the call and later testified at Trump's impeachment trial, sending the hypocrisy needle into the red zone.
Meanwhile, political opponents of Ukraine's new puppet government — began acting as informants on behalf of the Trump administration. Armed with evidentiary documents, certain Ukrainian officials and their representatives called on Trump and his lawyer Rudy Guilani in DC. The informants revealed how Ukraine functioned as the epicenter of US Deep State corruption, money laundering, and US election meddling. They described bribery, payoffs, and policy corruption — specifically referring to the activities of Hunter Biden and Joe Biden in Ukraine. Trump and Guiliani were further informed that impeachment charges against Trump were being organized and staged in Ukraine with involvement of the FBI and US embassy staff.
The criminal conspiracy and money laundering case against US politicians was opened in Ukraine. All news of it was vigorously suppressed in the US. The journalists who mentioned it were censored and defamed again and again. And now, the stories along with their supporting documents are about to become news again. Good. But not so much for the brain-damaged Americans that have succumbed to the distracting propaganda pushed by the Federal government and its State/corporate media monopolies. The majority have already lost their sovereignty when they missed their collective opportunity to unite and declare their self-determination. Years of forced political polarization has destroyed their ability to act collectively and seize the power of unity to put the government back in its place.
We discussed all of this at c99 very early, while the bonds between the People and the State were disintegrating. The trust is gone.
From April 7, 2019
Ukrainian to US prosecutors: Why don’t you want our evidence on Democrats?
by John Solomon.
Huge kudos, Pluto!
Well said. Especially the part of what happened in Ukraine during the Obama era and after when people were trying to expose it. I remember writing about the bogus impeachment hearings and exposing what the people testifying had done. I agree that most of us did see things as you described and we did take a lot of flack for it elsewhere. Like I’ve said before, we’ve done good!
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Hi, Pluto
I appreciate having the fact that most everyone here is making serious attempts at understanding and are willing (generally) to engage in a constructive way even with those they are in disagreement with on some point or other. As we seem to be in a situation where 'hang together or hang separately' is of pretty direct relevance, that's important.
So, very much appreciate (Thanks, JtC!) having space available that enables this. Minus what I think of as the Blue Guards at the the Other Place jumping in to label anything off-narrative as CT or whatever. (My first run-in with them was over vaccines - I was told in no uncertain terms that any questioning of vaccine safety or efficacy was strictly verboten. This was maybe eight or nine years ago, they were way ahead of the curve.
Re: Trump - I certainly wrote him off as a buffoon when I first heard of his candidacy but voted for him out of a desperate desire to rid the country of this seemingly endless plague of Bushes, Clintons, Obamas... He certainly can be his own worst enemy, made numerous mistakes and was under-prepared to deal with the entrenched corruption he encountered.
That said, he is far more intelligent than people generally give him credit for and appears to have learned a lot from bitter experience - he and associates have been formulating some very specific initiatives to take on the Deep State. Whereas most politicians will barely acknowledge it's existence, Trump is openly vowing to smash it.
Personally disagree with things he's done/supported - Ukraine, Israel, fracking... but given the (lack of decent) alternatives, I'm willing to support him taking a crack at it.
Now, if he'd just own up to mistakes made on Covid policy and go with Tulsi Gabbard as a running mate we'd be looking good.
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/trump-2025-radical-plan-second-term
Anti-Trumper analysis of recent Trump Cpac speech:
Thanks
I subscribe to his site and have posted almost all of his essays because he seems to have some good insights. I see lots of others that I follow referencing his work too.
Absolutely. It seems between all of us we bring great information to the discussion. And yes I have often commented on how we don’t seem to fall for most of the propaganda that we have been inundated with and offered kudos to us. If I’m believing one thing that isn’t true I usually change my mind after reading something someone else here has posted. I posted an essay a few weeks ago that gave great insight to why we see through so many false stories. I’ll go find it ICYMI.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the valuable information
Joe and Lookout bring us nightly and every Sunday that helps keep us informed.
Thanks, guys!
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Thank you...
For all your links, insights, and stories about Sam. Much appreciated!
I also agree with you that many in the community, perhaps most, saw the Russiagate set up way in advance, and understand the domestic situation as well as the foreign policy issues. I think PR's thoughts about c99 are spot on.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
This is a great read
"On Stupidity"
In other words never wrestle with a pig. It makes the pig angry and you just get muddy.
Plus the Goebbels instructions for getting people to believe something that isn’t true is to just keep repeating the lies over and over and soon people will start to believe them. He learned that from Wilson.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I’m sure that if the US was involved in Georgia we’d see sign
People gather to stage a demonstration against the bill on foreign influence transparency in Tbilisi, Georgia on March 9, 2023.
Plus protests in foreign countries always have signs written in their own language and not ones in English…which I’ve seen a number of.
Move along there’s no chance that we are doing a color revolution.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Good morning
It sounds like the west coast is getting flooded. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt).
China makes statement about US empire in Syria.
https://tass.com/world/1586901
And Lavrov's take down of empire hypocrisy during G20 speech is telling as well.
March 6, 2023
thanks for the OT!
question everything
When they war game US vs China...
The US loses....every time. This country is run by warmongering idiots addicted to their war grift. They don't care about outcomes, just their bank accounts in the Cayman's or some other tax haven. Ukraine has been the grift that keeps on giving, and now they're thinking of even larger profits in a China conflict. Besides China is committing peace and that won't help their bank accounts.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Well someone has some explaining to do
Not only did Twitter delete Trump’s tweet about this, but they seem to have hidden this one.
He either needs a new trial or a pardon from Biden. He took a plea agreement because of how much time he was facing and the justice department wouldn’t release all the videos showing what actually happened that day. Lawyers call that a Brady violation because the defense has to release ALL evidence to the person’s lawyer.
Definitely a clown….
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Brady is often
misinterpreted. The defense does not have a right to see all the evidence being used to prosecute their client. They have to get court orders to do so, unless the prosecutor's office protocol is full and open discovery.
Brady demands that any and all evidence that tends to mitigate guilt must be disclosed.
According to the Brady rule, Chansley had the right to see the video and Trump's tweet, since it "tends" to show he was not guilty as charged.
His appeal should be won, the request for a new trial granted.
We had a famous case in a neighboring county wherein a black man who worked as a custodian at a high school was convicted of sexual assault and murder of a white teen aged girl. I only mention race, since it happens the jurors, judge, prosecutors, and cops, were all white. Seems some semen was discovered on the girl's underwear. That key evidence was never presented. I seem to recall the underwear was located in either the judge's or prosecutor's office in the courthouse. Just prior to the man's execution, the underwear was discovered, DNA tested, and it was not the defendant's semen.
His execution was stayed, his guilty verdict reversed, new trial granted, and the State dismissed it rather than attempt re-trial.
This is how Brady works.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It's lucky that they even got Trump's message
Apparently Twitter (1.0) took it down only six minutes after it went up.
FWIW - following the Nov. 2020 elections there were a series of protests at the AZ state capitol and I saw Chansley interviewed on a livestream from one of them (this just a couple weeks before J-6) - he seemed a bit quirky, but articulate and no suggestion of being violent of agressive...
Jacob Chansley - that's the Tuchuk-wannabe, isn't he?
Dress up like a bozo, get treated like a bozo. Same as if he wore a big sign that said "Kick Me, I'm Stupid".
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
It has now become
known he suffers mental health problems. I get the court to order an examination of my client's competence before I do anything.
It is shameful the "idiot" is in prison because, in mental health terms, he may be one.
I hope he gets a pardon, or a chance to be in a mental health hospital.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Chansley -
According to his attorney, is very intelligent. In the short interview (pre-J-6) I watched I didn't see anything to indicate otherwise. That doesn't mean he doesn't have other issues and that those could be exacerbated by confinement - especially in the (literally) sub-Gitmo conditions that many J-6ers have been subject to.
The government's argument for holding him (if like many other J-6 defendants, in solitary confinement) was that he was or was pre-disposed to be violent. Surely the unreleased footage would have been relevant to that.
Appeal possibilities are apparently problematic because he waived appeal rights in the plea agreement.
BTW - from a defense attorney standpoint what's with the refusal of the courts to allow any changes of venue for these trials? Chance of a reasonable jury pool for Trump defendants somewhere that went 90%+ for Biden in 2020 - higher than any Congressional District in the country? AFAIK all such requests have been turned down.
I do not practice in federal court
and have no particular knowledge of federal procedural rules.
You would think these defendants would attempt a change of venue if federal procedure allows. Also, it would seem to me a person found to have mental health problems, even if they waived their right to appeal, would have a path for a new trial.
I have had two psychologists testify that a high IQ is very likely in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Maybe his defense council couldn't spot problems, or the man's family and friends did not offer information regarding his health.
The man's defense was hidden from his attorney by the prosecutors.
They should be disbarred, Chansley should walk out the prison walls.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Book. Cover.
Can we apply that standard to Drag Queen Story Hour?
Haven't checked the federal statutes, but I'm pretty sure dressing up like a bozo is not (yet) a felony.
I guess if Jesus comes back he'd better be careful about his wardrobe.
Not a felony, no, but not a clever way to
make a political statement. BEST case scenario is nobody will take you seriously.
I had a particular reason for calling him a "Tuchuk-wannabe" - the Tuchux are barbarian cosplayers out western Pennsylvania way. They show up at Pennsic every year playing at being a primitive tribe that has just discovered/been discovered by "civilization" (as represented by the "Middle Ages/Renaissance" cosplaying of the SCA). But they have their own fairly strict rules, so aside from having a somewhat rowdy campsite they're not a problem. It's the wannabes, who like the idea of "playing barbarian" but don't know the rules, that you have to watch out for. Some years back a wannabe tried jumping out of a tree at the "other side", broke his arm, and gave the Tuchux a bad rep until it was discovered that he wasn't one.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
China will, if unimpaired, be able to compete
with the US economically and politically within 3 or 4 years.
Nobody can be allowed to achieve such a status via-a-vis the empire.
The bozos driving this bus believe that we can currently beat china in an air-sea war.
The bozos driving this bus believe that we can only beat china during the next 2 to 3 years.
We MUST beat China and the window for doing so is short and shrinking.
The pressure and consent building for such a war will continue to grow.
The MSM is and will continue to be complicit.
The narrative must somehow be challenged and changed.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
The US does seem to be
quickly cooling on Ukraine and making the sharp pivot to China.
What remains to be seen is how many countries will go along to get along? The Aussie government, so far, is the only one truly committed to war, and likely Japan.
S. Korea would go along, but how they imagine themselves being players with N. Korea having them in their sights is beyond me, and squarely in soryang's turf.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I tried to reply
to your comment several times, without success. Maybe because of a twitter post I tried to embed. I'll try without it.
Thanks for the reference OTC. I had drafted a response earlier, got interrupted by the usual housing issue (this time delivering toilets), and lost my post and place in the thread somehow.
Tim Shorrock picked up this twitter post today which I think is relevant-
https://twitter.com/OopsGuess/status/1634111121597796352
So the Japanese are "all in" on the US Taiwan policy. Their substantially increased military spending is being advanced by the so called "moderate" from Hiroshima, Prime Minister Kishida. Who better to is militarize Japan? How to create an offensive military force without amending Article 9 of the Constitution. I don't think many Japanese citizens think war with China is good idea or cutting off high tech trade with China is either. On the other hand, when did the LDP care what the Japanese think?
The Japanese administration treats China differently from South Korea or North Korea because they have their perception of the pecking order. One can insult Koreans, but must tread more carefully with China. I think they're trying to salami slice the "getting back" Taiwan issue like the US. Unfortunately, I think Kishi (Abe's brother) who used to be defense minister set up a trap for the unwary, when he got Biden to commit to the defense of the Senkaku Islands, some rocks claimed by China not far from Taiwan which are in Japanese possession. From time to time there are confrontations there with Chinese patrol boats and Japanese vessels. There are Japanese-Chinese disputes over where maritime EEZ borders are in the East Sea. If Japan decides to cut off China from photoresist exports for semiconductor production, they may no longer be able to finesse the China "problem." In other words, have it both ways.
South Korea's Yoon pretended for a time, that he could pursue some kind of independent policy with China with respect to trade. That may come undone before the end of the year, depending on whether or not the US extends the high tech export waiver for South Korea to export to China or collaborate on high tech production in China. I read an article lately that suggested the US won't.
I think many South Koreans may have a generally unfavorable view of China, this has more to do with culture war type issues, (who invented the hanbok? Who invented Kimchi?) and the general ethnic bias and anti China propaganda. I don't think this makes them amenable to contributing to the Indo-Pacific strategy militarily or joining a US-Japan-South Korea tri-lateral alliance against China. Yoon is getting ensnared in this US anti-China web, but generally South Koreans don't support it. This goes completely against the traditional Korean relationship with China. Typically, deferential to China, or at worst doing the balancing act or triangulating as many call it now.
If Yoon completely alienates the Chinese, South Korea's major trading partner, the economic consequences will likely be severe; they are already in an IMF type economic slump similar to 1997. Trade is trade, business is business. Are they really going to blow off China? I don't think Yoon has thought this through. But I've always felt Yoon has been treading water. He's vulnerable, because of his corruption, and basically has to do whatever the US tells him or he is gone. He's not too bright. (It took him 9X to pass the bar exam). I have a theory that if the NY Times turned on Yoon, by criticizing him on his weak points, corruption, rigging investigations and trials, obstructing justice, being a dictator for all practical purposes, he would be out of power within several weeks or a few months. But Yoon has been doing US bidding since day 1. He has to play ball. This is based on observations of how the conservative press and news cycle works in South Korea.
語必忠信 行必正直
Here’s your tweet
There is a tiny 'corrine' in the tweet that seems like a emoji to the site that just needs to be removed. Any time you get the error message look to see if there’s a emoji or something like it that is blocking it.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Thanks!
For posting the tweet Snoopydawg. I had no idea what was wrong. Thanks for the tech advice. I've been learning here.
語必忠信 行必正直
Much appreciated, soryang.
Japan and S. Korea need something along a "buyer beware" warning.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The BBC is grasping at straws with its coverage.
gag me.
n/t
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The rats are starting to squirm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ackman
The Sirota piece on Breaking Points was very good.
The comments also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkPAJadJgGs
Good thing the guy stole from rich people. He and they will be guaranteed to not lose a cent.
So the head admin guy at SVB was the CFO at Lehmen? Figures, fail up.
On Taiwan
Lunatic Gordan Chang suggested this:
Gordon Chang is a propagandist. He just says the most inflammatory and sensational thing he can to get media exposure. Why would anyone in Taiwan want to do this? What Chang is doing is catering to the US interests who have no problem with a genocidal war plan in Asia. This is really a US threat. And what could be better than to get the Taiwanese proxy government whose leadership was cultivated by the west to do it for them? I don't think the people in Taiwan are stupid. I've heard Gordon's bs for well over a decade. More than twenty years ago, he predicted China would "collapse." We're still waiting Gordon. He's always using the Asian crisis du jour to pander to the worst American instincts. The real issue is why does an extremist like Gordan Chang get so much attention from the US establishment?
As a practical matter, Taiwan's infrastructure is quite exposed. There are dams in Taiwan, that are vulnerable and more easily targeted. If Taiwan's infrastructure was attacked by China, Taiwan would basically cease to exist.
Why would anyone in Taiwan be foolish enough to even contemplate such a conflict when it is completely unnecessary and fomented by US-Japan-UK meddling? China has little incentive to destroy Taiwan's infrastructure. Why kill the goose that laid the golden egg? Because militarist interests in the US would like to reoccupy Taiwan? Wouldn't it be great if our military "could get Taiwan back?" Getting Taiwan "back" is very much on the Japanese LDP leadership's mind as well.
Really disagree with the import of Schaeffer's assertion that Milley told him that China wants to control the Pacific. This is the way the US tries to justify its meddling with Taiwan, exaggerates China's legitimate national security interests in territorial integrity and littoral seas beyond all reason. China wanting the one China policy respected, in other words, no independent Taiwan as part of the US-Japanese military's "first island chain" strategy is equated with Japanese imperialism in the 20th Century, namely WWII. It's nonsense.
Dominating the Pacific is the US policy not China's. And from the US point of view it means sailing warships, bombers, submarines right off all parts of China's coast (gunboat diplomacy). Along with salami slicing a US military presence in Taiwan. It is contrary to China's own interest to obstruct peaceful commerce on international sea lanes. This, in fact, is the US naval strategy against China. The problem is the US acknowledged Taiwan was part of one China, and now wants to change the status quo. Agreeing to move Taiwan's semiconductor production to the US and Japan was an extremely unwise move for Taiwan. Once it's technology is offshored...
Thanks for the Potluck SOF.
語必忠信 行必正直
This might interest you soryang.
I couldn't figure out how to embed the video.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/03/11/699699/Tension-mounts-in-advanc...
The propagation of propaganda
Yah, maybe some intrepid researchers may uncover the process and mechanisms on how the establishment feeds propaganda to the citizens. It does seem like the mechanisms are centralized. In Nazi Germany the propagation of propaganda was indeed centralized. Every morning the regime sent out to every newspaper in Germany daily talking points. The editors were then told to delete the telegrams.
In fact, the Allies wanted to put the people in charge of the daily messaging on trial for war crimes. But could not find those daily telegrams. However, one editor did in fact save all of them and buried them in his back yard. The editor saw an ad in the daily paper asking for evidence against a number of Nazis and approached the Allies with proof.
The scary part of the propaganda used against us is that it does seem to come from central sources.
Prigozhin takes a bit of a break to troll Ukraine.
A B-52 simply out for a joy ride. Business as usual!
SOE, while sitting on my porch,
observing a beautiful sun set, I observed 2 vultures having intercourse on a limb of their favorite pine tree. They sit on it, as may as a dozen at a time, very regularly.
Some politicians, some billionaires, and other 1%ers came to mind.
Anyway, I am glad you made such an effort to gather this content for us.
I am pretty appalled, but not surprised, by our focus on escalations with China. Anyone knowledgeable about BRICS saw this potential.
Kudos! Keep us abreast of current trends and events.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
the US-ROK exercises and...
...and tit for tat escalatory responses to the North's missile testing are not routine. How does one characterize the presence of so called strategic assets including "nuclear capable" B-52s, SSNs, a nuclear aircraft carrier, and an exercise of a vast air armada including B-lb's "routine?" When these exercises started after Yoon took office, they were characterized as the biggest in at least 4 years. In a couple of days, the biggest in 5 years begins. Frankly there are so many different US-ROK exercises it's difficult to keep track of them.
Like the North's actions, the repeated presence of US "strategic assets" violates the Singapore Summit agreement between the US and the North. One can say, oh, the North violated the agreement first. One could also say, the North exercised poor judgement in launching missiles during the presidential campaign, which allowed Yoon to win by a hair and thereby started the current escalatory crisis. One other point is that I don't consider firing artillery and tactical missiles near the DMZ on the southern side "routine."
There was a hiatus for about four weeks this January from the missile tests in North Korea. To my knowledge no one took advantage of this on the US-ROK side. The US-ROK side plowed on with more military events. They seem incapable of exercising any restraint. The fact is Yoon has nothing going for him domestically in South Korea, he's basically trying to put his political opponents, critics, journalists, labor and civic leaders in jail to keep himself, his supporters, his corrupt prosecutors, and his corrupt family out of prison. The only policy he has is trying to create a national security crisis, in other words, a climate of fear, which happens to fall right in with US plans.
Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung put Yoon's domestic policy of repression this way: The innocent are prosecuted; the guilty are not prosecuted. 유검무죄 무검유죄 Lee has received 332 search warrants during Yoon's effort to imprison him. Yoon's wife, nolle prossed by prosecutors basically without any investigation on several crimes, received no warrants.
This is the banner from the 30th Candlelight Movement at the rallying point:
(Source- Balgan Agae, youtube today)
The theme is "topple pro-Japanese traitor Yoon Seok-yeol" from power. The distinctive handprint is that of Ahn Jung-geun, Korea's national hero who assassinated Ito Hirobumi in 1909 in Harbin. Ito was the first Japanese prime minister and first Resident General of South Korea responsible for colonizing it. Ahn was hanged after a trial by the Japanese. Ahn cut the tip of his left index finger off as part of his pledge to his colleagues in the independence movement to kill Ito.
Demonstrators passed the US Embassy calling for the US to withdraw its support for Yoon's solution to the Japanese war crime problem. They also passed the Japanese embassy, while some ripped up cardboard replicas of the Japanese Imperial Flag with Yoon's face in the middle. I estimate the total crowd out today for the candlelight event at 35,000.
Thanks Humphrey for the link. You're right, this interests me.
語必忠信 行必正直
This is a bit awkward.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-12/china-names-us-sancti...
I have my doubts that Zelensky will appreciate this.